G42 expands U.S. footprint with AI data center in Minneapolis

G42, the UAE’s government-backed artificial intelligence company, is moving forward with expansion plans in the U.S. by opening a new data center in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota.

A unit of the Abu Dhabi-based firm, Core42, leased space in a converted office tower in the Midwest city that is being redeveloped into an AI data center, as it seeks a bigger foothold in the U.S. market amid surging demand for high-speed computing, Bloomberg reports.

The Minnesota project is part of the strategy pursued by G42 Chairman Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, the UAE’s National Security Advisor, to turn the company into a global AI leader through partnerships with U.S. technology firms, including Microsoft and OpenAI.

G42, which is also operating in California, Texas and New York, announced in February that it’s leading a $1 billion project in Vietnam to build data centers and provide cloud computing services.

At the Milken Institute’s Global Conference 2026 in Los Angeles this week, Mubadala Deputy Group CEO Waleed Al Mokarrab Al Muhairi said that disruptions from the ongoing conflict with Iran won’t stop the sovereign wealth fund – which holds a minority stake in G42 – from increasing its investments in the U.S.